Ruth Davidson warns senior Nats: We will take your seats if you put up Scottish tax

Ruth Davidson has given notice to John Swinney and other high-profile Nationalists that they face losing their seats to the Tories at the next Scottish Parliament election if the SNP government puts up taxes.

The Scottish Conservative leader said Nicola Sturgeon’s minority government had to listen to her party on tax as it would be “electoral madness” to strike a deal with any of Holyrood’s other opposition parties, all of which want to increase income tax.

She pointed out that SNP MSPs in many parts of Scotland saw their majorities “slashed” in this month’s election, with huge swings to the Conservatives. Mr Swinney’s majority in Perthshire North was cut from 10,353 to just 3,336 thanks to a 12 per cent swing to her party.

Writing in a Sunday newspaper, Ms Davidson warned that nothing would more ensure those majorities disappear altogether at the 2021 election than “five years of higher taxes” and she hoped the Nationalists would “see sense” by adopting the Tories’ tax plans.

They are particularly elated at the result in Mr Swinney’s seat as he is the Deputy First Minister and was the SNP’s campaign director. However, they also polled strongly in a series of other rural seats, which for decades were Tory strongholds before the SNP took them.

John Swinney's majority was drastically cut at the Holyrood electionCredit:
PA

Roseanna Cunningham, the Cabinet Environment Minister, saw her majority in Perthshire South and Kinross-shire dwindle from 7,166 to only 1,422.

Richard Lochhead, the former Rural Affairs Minister at the centre of the EU farm payments scandal, held his seat but with his majority cut from 10,944 to 2,875.

The SNP’s advantage was also decimated in Aberdeenshire East, where Alex Salmond stood down as the MSP. His 2011 majority of 15,295 dropped to 5,837 for his successor, Gillian Martin, with the Tories more than doubling their vote and moving into second place.

However, she ignored the Conservative manifesto despite its proposals on income tax and council tax being almost identical to the SNP’s. In contrast, both Labour and the Lib Dems want to put a penny on both the basic and higher rates of income tax.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Ms Davidson said the First Minister had “her hand on the tiller” but does not appear to know whether to turn Left or do a deal with the Tories.

“For political reasons, the fear is that Nicola Sturgeon will opt to turn Left. It will appease those on her benches for whom the term ‘Tory’ is still the original four-letter word. My commitment is to make her think again,” she wrote.

“I hope the SNP will listen. And I warn them that, if they don’t, they will suffer in the longer term.” Although the Greens performed well, she said voters had rejected Left-wing parties promising higher taxes.

“As the SNP knows all too well, in many parts of Scotland, they saw their majorities slashed, with support coming over to us. Nothing will ensure those majorities disappear altogether (more) than five years of higher taxes.

“So for the SNP to join Labour, the Greens and Lib Dems on that course would be nothing short of electoral madness.” The Conservatives argue that tax rates should be no higher than in the rest of the UK.

Nicola Sturgeon leads a minority governmentCredit:
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The Conservatives also yesterday called for the acceleration of plans to give schools greater autonomy to headteachers over budgets and how their schools are run.

Liz Smith, the party’s Shadow Education Minister, said there was now a “clear parliamentary majority” for the change and the Tories would push for speedier reform at an education summit this summer.

She said the Tories and SNP also agreed on the introduction of school “clusters” and a review of governance but her party would try and convince the Nationalists to go further by allowing schools to opt out of local authority control.

Kate Forbes, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, said: “Our proposals are fair, balanced and progressive – ensuring that those on low and middle incomes are not the ones to bear the price of Tory austerity.

“The fact is that Ruth Davidson can’t hide from the record of her party at Westminster, which is pressing ahead with tax cuts for the most well off, while remaining wedded to an austerity agenda which is damaging the lives of disabled and vulnerable people in our communities.”